Information for Juniors:
Three things your child could be doing now to alleviate stress next year.
Prior to the spring of your junior year, we will administer both the Mock ACT and the Mock SAT to all juniors and Ms. Wilhelm, the ACT/SAT Coordinator, will meet with each junior individually. This meeting will determine the student's need for college admission testing based on the test results and their post-secondary plan and which test might be best suited for the student. Juniors may then pick up an ACT or SAT registration packet from Ms. Wilhelm. Her office is located in the Counseling Department. If you have met the course requirements for a 4-year college, you should plan on taking either the ACT and/or the SAT once in the spring of the junior as recommended by both the College Board and the ACT Educational Services. If necessary, a student may repeat either test once or twice as a senior. It is important to participate in the ACT or SAT Prep programs offered at Westlake before with the May/June tests or the November/December tests. See Ms. Wilhelm for more information. The College of Southern Maryland does NOT require either test.
Begin (or continue) to research colleges. Students generally apply to between 3 to 5 colleges and with the application deadlines often hitting in December (U Md. College Park is Nov. 1) we recommend that counselor pages and transcript requests be submitted to the guidance office early in November. During peak times it can take as much as two weeks for the guidance office to process a transcript request that includes a counselor page. If your student walks in the building the first day of school knowing which schools he is applying to, he can work on completing the applications in September (Fair Day is good for that) and have everything in to guidance early.
Students will need a detailed resume and completed student questionnaire in order to receive a letter of recommendation from the Counselor. If a letter of recommendation is not requested, that portion of the counselor's page will be left blank. Write the resume now and have it ready for the fall.
Students and parents are welcome to make an appointment now to discuss senior year schedules, testing, and college searches.
Senior Questionnaire
Test dates and additional services:
Detailed information about test dates, fee waivers and services for students with disabilities are available on both the ACT and the SAT web-sites listed below:
ACT information
SAT information